The first widely-recognized example of Auto-Tune used in popular music was in Cher’s smash-hit “Believe”, released on October 19, 1998. It can be argued that the robotic nature of her vocals compliments the techno manner of the song, but analysis of her live performances of this song reveal she is relying on the effect to carry her voice, rather than the other way around. This usage seemed mainly in order to show off Auto-Tune and get it into the public lexicon. It was certainly the first big song to use Auto-Tune (Arnold) and paved the way for the software’s use. Kyle Kramer explains its significance, saying “While today it seems entirely normal, the ‘Cher effect’ was once considered revolutionary and strange” (Kramer). The artists at the time also knew it would be a big deal, as Mark Taylor, a producer behind the song, recalls, “I remember thinking at the time ‘this really is such a groundbreaking effect that doesn't come along every day’”, (Kramer). Another notable success of Auto-Tune around the turn of the century was French artist Mirwais’ “Naïve Song”, released as part of his album Production on April 20, 2000. It was the first song to use Auto-Tune on the entirety of the vocals for a song, so it was another milestone for the software. “Naïve Song” still does not see a real “creative” use of Auto-Tune, as in the usage feels like an afterthought applied to the whole song rather than an artistic choice used deliberately on specific parts of the song, and thus the pitch-correction software’s niche status remained for several years. Auto-Tune struggled to push past this status, as Simon Reynolds writes, “Right from the start, it always felt like a gimmick, something forever on the brink of falling from public favor” (Reynolds). Other one-hit-wonder success stories utilizing digital vocal enhancers like Auto-Tune would surface, such as Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” or Sonique’s “It Feels So Good” (Dickinson), but it would not be until the late 2000s that Auto-Tune saw a real resurgence in pop culture.